Sunday, March 16, 2014

Tarasenko out for remainder of regular season with hand injury

Winger to have surgery Wednesday, will be re-evaluated in six weeks

By LOU KORACST. LOUIS -- One of those injuries the Blues were hoping to avoid late in the season became an unavoidable situation.The team announced late Sunday afternoon that second-year winger Vladimir Tarasenko will undergo surgery on his right hand Wednesday and miss at least six weeks after suffering an injury during a 4-1 victory Saturday against the Nashville Predators.Tarasenko, who scored the Blues' third goal in the game, was checked behind the Blues' goal with 21 seconds remaining by the Predators' Viktor Stalberg, which could have been the source of the injury. He remained down on the ice for a few moments before slowly getting up and skating off.

(Getty Images)

The Blues will be without forward Vladimir Tarasenko (91) for

at least six weeks after suffering a hand injury Saturday night.

Tarasenko will miss at least the first couple weeks of the playoffs should the Blues still be playing.Tarasenko, 22, has 43 points (21 goals, 22 assists) and a plus-20 rating in 64 games this season. He is sixth on the team in points and tied for second (with David Backes and Jaden Schwartz) in goals. The Blues' first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2010 NHL Draft, Tarasenko has 29 goals and 33 assists in 102 games in two seasons.The Blues recalled left wing Dmitrij Jaskin from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League to replace Tarasenko in the lineup.Jaskin, 20, has 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 42 games for the Wolves and one goal and one assist in nine games with the Blues.Tarasenko, playing with Vladimir Sobotka and T.J. Oshie the past two games, was on a hot streak with nine points (three goals, six assists) in the past eight games. The injury comes on the heels of Tarasenko's rookie season in which he missed 10 games after suffering a concussion against the Colorado Avalanche.